2013 Porsche 911: Locked out of Seven

November 26, 2013

I've been using cruise control with much more frequency lately. In most cases, it keeps me from inadvertently exceeding the speed limit, which is easy in some of the more powerful cars that roll through the Edmunds lot.

On the way home one night in our 2013 Porsche 911, I discovered a minor peculiarity.

During a break between songs on my iDevice, I noticed the revs were a bit higher than normal. A quick glance at the gauges showed that I was in sixth gear instead of seventh. Since I normally drive the 911 in manual mode, I pulled the paddle to step up a gear. Nothing happened.

I moved the gear selector over to automatic mode. Still nothing. Then I remembered how some other cars won't let you select the higher gears in sport mode. Bingo!

I switched off the Sport Plus button and the transmission instantly dropped into seventh. Back in manual mode, seventh was again available. I never really understood why manufacturers would block out the highest gear like this, but there it is. And yes, I realize that the title of this post sounds like a Bruno Mars song.